Life-saving apparatus for submarine boats.



'PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907.

A o. A0.v OBHMLBR. LIFE SAVIA@ APPARATUS POR SUBMARINB BOATS.

P PLIOATION FILED-$313.4, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTBD JUNE 1a., 19o?.

VBT01351193.

0. A. C. OEHMLERL LIFE SAVING .APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINB BOATS.

APPLIUATION4 FILED FEB. 4, 1901.

lemma-SHEET 2.

4o in distress.

Umrnn srnrns PArnNr orifice.

OSCAR A. C. OEHMLER, CF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-THIRD T WILLIAM FREDERICK `f OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBL econAND ADoLPHUs' time,

LiFE-SAVING APPARATUS FF?` SUBNIARINE BOATS.

ySpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented J' une A18, 19'i.

' Application filed February 4,1907. Serial No. 365,677.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR A. C. OEHMLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,-residing at H Washington, in the District of Columbia,

io life saving apparatus and is designed articularly for use inconnection vwith su marine boatsot the type which is how commonly in iuse. i

As is Well known, the operatlon -of sub- 15 marine vessels isexceedingly dangerous, parzo tially disabled making it at timesdiiiicult,

yand in some instancesimpossible, to raise the .vessel to the surface'of the water.

The present invention' has been devised with a view to the above stateof affairs espe- 15 cially, embodying improvements in that type of-apparatus, thel aim oi' ywhich is to prevent likelihood of disasterssuch as have happened in the past, caused by failure of the operatingmechanism ol' I submarine vessels to work 3o lproperly and raise thevessel to the surface of the water, whereby the lives of the occupantsof the vessels have been lost.

ln ca1'rying,out thc invention, means are provided i'or'not onlysupplying air and sus- 35 tenance. to the inmates or occupants ol' adisabled submerged vessel, but eilective means ,is alsoprovided forsignaling vessels on the high seas when. the submarine boat is submergedand disabled, and its occupants arc The invention Pcomprises anorganization of co-opcrating mechanisms and parts, the details of whichwill appear more fully horeinaiter, and iinally clalined.

Fora full undcrstamiing of the invention and then'ierits thereof andalso to 'acquire a knowledge oi the details of construction of 4themeans for eiiecting the result, reference isto be had to the followingdescription and 5o accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevation showing a submarine vessel submerged, andthe apparatus embodying the invention applied thereto and illustrated asin operative position. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view bringingout more g clearly the construction oi the casing or a well at the upperportion et the boat or vessel, and in which the buoy is housed, adjacent parts of the operating mechanism being also shown. Y Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view of the parts shown in Fig.A 2. Fig. 4 is a de-Atail vertical sectional view taken about .on

the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a top plan view, vpartially brokenaway, of the upper por tion of the buoy. Fig. 6 is an enlarged verticalsectional view, partially broken away bringing out more clearly thedetail construction of the upper portion of the buoy. Fig. 7 is a detailcross section of the cable connecting the buoy with the boat.

Corresponding and like arts are referred to in theiollowing descriptionand indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same referencecharacters.

Speciiicall)T describing this invention the numeral l indicates asubmarine boat of conventionaltype, the same being propelled in thecustomary way-,' and having the usual mechanism tor effectingsubmergence of the vessel 'and raising it to the surface of the waterwhenever desired. As the `general construction of the submarine boat isi1n-. material within conten'iplation of this invention, the same 'willnot be specificallyy dc'- scrihed..

At a suitable point intermediate of the opposite ends of the boat l ,islocated acasing or well L). which projects downwardhY from the deck 3 oithe boat and which may be of any suitable form, being illustrated squarein the drawings. The casing or well 2 oi' a size welll adapted toreceive a bno);7 #I which latter is normally contained by the casingwhen the apparatus which comprises this invention is not in use. Thebuoy 4 may be of am.' suit able type and-1s preferably hollow, as Jalal,and adapted to readily move to the suil ce ol the water when releasedfrom the casing 2, while the boat l is submerged. The oonstruction ofthe buoy 4 is peculiar however, in certain details, as will be pointedout hercinafter.

The casing 2 is designed to be air and wat ter tight so that when thebuoy 4f andconneet-cd parts are not in'use, they will be edectivelyhoused and prevented from damage by the elements. Applied. to the deckand surrounding the openingf'ormedbythe upper end of the-casing or well2 is a frame 5 1n the upper surface of which is received a packinggasket 6 of suitable material against which the cover or lid 7 oi thecasing 2 is adapted to seat, when the cover is closed'and in its normalposition.

The buoy 4 is connected permanently with the boat 1 andfor this purpose.a cable 8 is provided, the upper end of said cable being attached'to avertical pipelQ leading through the buoy 4 and the lower end of thecable be ing secured as at 10`to the bottom 11 of the casing or well.2.able material and contains preferably at least two tubes y12--'-13. Thetube. 12 is-designed primarily as means for'sup Alying air to the'occupants of the boat, sai :tube communicating at the upper extremitywith, anair,

passage. 14 provided in a head 15 which isattached to the up ertapering-portion of the buoy 4. Normal y theouterinost end of thepassage 14 is closed by a friction tight -plug l through the bottom ofthe casing-2 at the point adjacent to which the lower extremity of thecable 8 is secured, 4and indicated at 1t). A suitable 'air pump, notshown, is connected with the portion of the tube 12 extending downwardlyfrom the bottom 11 oi"A the cas- 4 ing 2 and said pump may be utilizedto draw air into the vessel or to force air'into the tube 12 whereby todischarge the plug 16 from the passage, after the buoy 4 has arisentothe tube is controlled by a'suitable valve f17.

surface of the Water, in the operationof the lifesaving apparatus.Passage' of air into the tube 12, andthe supply oiD air from saicil.:

desired, the tube 12 may be also used to permit rescuers at thesurfaceofthe Wat-er to supply liquid food or other means of'suste# nanceto the occupants of the submerged boat, shuld such means of succor benecessary. The tube- 13, which also passes throughthe ca ble 81,'connects at its upper end with a passage 18 formed in the head 15 of thebuoy 4,said passage 18 being similar to the passage 14 and having itsupper outer end extending in an opposite direction, a friction held plug19 is likewise located` so as' to normally close the outer end of thepassage 18.

The tube 13 is utilized, preferably, to per-4 mit discharge of achemical from a suitable tank or receptacle, notshown, and locatedwithin the boat, from 'the upper-end portion of thebuoy 4 when thelatter has been re-l leased from the boat and is at the surface of thewater. The chemical abovementioned is of such a nature as to immediatelyignite when it is discharging from the passage 18 and comes into contactwith the 'surface of The cable 8 is of any. suit-I he lower end of thetube 12 passes.

i strawsI the water. This chemical ignitingmeans is similar to thatwhich is commonly employed. on vessels for signaling purposes it will bereadily apparent that on discharge of the chemical from the passage 18,and contact thereof with the Water, said chemical will burst into aflame forming an effective illuminatingsignal which may be seen formiles. The construction of the buoy 4 is es ecially. advantageous with aView particularly to its co-operation with the si naling means employed.- The upper surace ef said buoy, u on the sides adjacent to thehead 15, vand w 'ch surface elan-'ts upwardly toward the head l15 ,ishighly polished and formed so as to constitute a reflector. Thus theilluminating signal established by contact of the chemical abovementioned, with the Water., will be greatly. increased inzeffectivenessby reason of the `fact that the surface-at the tapering 'top ortion ofthe buoy, designated at.20 in iiector 1n the manner above set forth.

ff Applied to the bottom 11, of the casing or well 2 is a handpurnp 21which is connected lwith the lower end ofthe tube 13 'and also withapipe 22 which leads to the chemical tank .and said pump 21 is operatedin dis-' charging the chemical through the tube 13 upon the surface ofthe Water.-

The cable 8 is of course of. a suitable length vto readily admit of thebuo 4 rising to the surface of the water, when t e boat lissubf mergedat an ordinary depth and said cable not only contains the tube's,12-13but also IOC contains suitablewiresfmming elements of electrical meansof; estal` lishing communication between the occupants of the vessel andrescuers at.` the surface of the wat 1rv as well as for supplyingcurreiit for power," illuminating, or similar purposes, to apparatus ormechanism Within `the boat.

Fig. 7. shows/an arran ement of the l'circuit wires applied to the cab e8.` Thdwi'res23, for instance, are connected wit` binding' posts 24rojecting upwardly from the head 15 of the uoy and these wires establishsuitable connection with a telephone 25 arranged in the boat 1, andshown applied to la side of the casing 2. Similar wires 26 pass from thecable 8 through the bottom of the well, as. Shown ac27 and these Wiresmay be connected up with electrically driven motor. mechanism, or powermechanism of any kind, or may be connected with the circuit wires of anelectric lighting system. A cap 29 v is attached tothe to of the head15, .packing 30 being interpose( between said parts. The cap 29 housesthe posts 24 and otherbinding posts 24a which connect with the upperends of the Wires 26. Rescuers reaching the buoy may readily detach thecap 29 and by connecting suitable wires with the Wires 2326,\ havetelephonie comziunicatlon with theoccupants 1n the vessel,j or' supplyelectrical IIO , in making use oi the apparatus constituting the outeror free' end of the cover 7.

this invention, to release the buoy 4 and perlnit the latter with itsconnecting cable to float upwardly to the surface of the. water. .loaccomplish the above, the cover or lid 7 of the casing 2 must be opened.By reason ot the enormous pressure which is exerted upon everysquare-in* of the exposed portions oi a submerged boat it'will beobvious that peculiar operating mechanism is necessary in order to movea part, such as the cover or the lid 7, preliminary to releasing thebuoy 4. The present invention involves a broad'principle, in orderl tofacilitate the operation of releasing the buoy 4, of equalizin g thepressure of the water on the up er and lower sides of the cover 7 of thewel 2.

For this purpose a pipe 31 is provided, said pipe leading from a smallopening 32 in .the

'deck 3 of the boat, toa small opening in a side of the easing 2. Thepipe 31 is designed to control the admission of water to the interior ofthe casing 2, previous to the operation ot releasing the buoy 4, inextremity. A. valve 32 is located in the length of the pi e 3i and byopening said valve' water will be admitted very quickly to the casing orthe wen 2 and pressure upon opposite sides oi the cover 7 will .beequalized. Said cover will thus not have to be opened or raised againstthe enormous pressure of the 'waterwhieh would be impracticable, it isbelieved, under ordinary conditions. When water has been `admitted tothe casing 2 and the water pressure on thewcover or lid 7 equalizedinitial lmovement is imparted to the cover or lid by a suitable jackdevice preferably consisting of a vertical screw 33 swiveled in abracket 34fatta'ched to a side of the casing 2 within theboat. Thescrg33is operablebyratchet lever 35. connecte With the screw at the lowerend ofthe latter. The screw 33 passes ythrough openings in the `deck 3and the frarnei and has threaded eonnectionwith Said screw 33 and itsoperating mechanisms are designed to impart slight initial movement tothe cover 7, and this mechanism is used as it ,is veryA powerful andwill readily eii'ect the desired movement of the cover though the lattermay have been shut tor a long period of time.

After the, screw 33 has been -operated as,

above described, the main operating mechanism for the cover 7 isactuated. Saidl main operating mechanism. comprisesspaced 'uitingbars-36 the upper ends of which are pivoted to the cover' 7 and thelower ends of which have pivotal connection, as shown at 37, 'withblocks 38, which are adapted to slide inl horizontal guides 39 locatedat opposite' sides of the casing or well 2. The blocks 38 as well as thebars 36 are separated from the interior of the casing or well 2 by thewalls of the casing, as shown most clearly Fig. 4 of the drawing,theguides 39 boing iiormedby housing plates 4() attached to the casing 2at opposite sides of the latter. In order to effect longitudinalmovement of the blocks y33 relative to the guides 39, screws 41 are pro;vided, said screws' being arran ed tol pass through threaded openings inbloc is 38, and in actuate the lifting bars 36 to raise the cover 7. @neend ot' each of the screws 41, one of which is provided for each block38, passes through a stuiing box'at one side of the casing 2 and theprojecting extremityoii the screw has a suitable bevel pinion 42 securedthereto. AThe bevel pinions 42 mesh with similar pinions43 on theoppositeends of a transverse shaft 44 the latter being mounted A handwheel 46 secured to theshai't 44 between the ends of the latter may beoperated by the occupants of the boat to actuate the screws 41 and theblocks 3S, whereby to force the lifting bars 36'vertica'lly and thuselevate the cover 7 to open the latter. The lifting-bars 36 have theopenings at the lower ends thereof i which receive the pivots securingsaid bars to the blocks 33, slightly elongated to permit the cover 7 tobe given the slight initial movement by the screw 33 previous to theoperation of the main screws 41.

Briefly describing the operation of the iiivention, should the submarineboat to'which the invention is applied be submerged and its operatingmechanism disabled, the occupants of the vessel will in'st open thevalvev 32a and permitrwater to How into the space in thecasing 2 beneaththe cover 7. The casi-ng 2 having become filled wih water pressure isequalized on opposite sii` es of the cover 7 and the jacket screw 33will be actu` ated to unseat the cover' 7 giving it slight'inn tialopening movement. This done, the hand wheel 46 will be turned and thelifting bars 36 actuated to raise the cover 7 .into the position shownby dotted lines in Fig'. 3. The opening of the cover 7 will release t/hebuoy 4 which lis ree to move upward to the Surface of the water. Asasimple means for indicating'when the buoy has reached the surface of thewater, a galvanonieter 48 is situated in the boat 1 convenient forreference thereto by the occupants of the vessel and said appliance isconnected by suitable circuit wires in the cable 8 with spaced contacts49 at thev top of the buoy 4. Normally the electric circuitin which thegalvanometer 0f the spaced contacts-49. When water is `the o erationthereolc to move said blocks and in brackets 45 extending 'from thecasing 2.

IOO

iig

48 is included is broken by the arrangement closed as the current wi beadap edto pass through the water so as to electrically conneetthe'contacts 49. l Closing of the circuit-i will operate to deflect theneedle of the galvanorneter in the customary way and the occupants ofthe boat may readily tell when the buoy 4 reaches the 'surface of thwater, for the reason that as soon as the toa of the buoy with thecontacts 49 extendabove the water the'circuit including thegalva'ilometer will be broken' and the needle of the latter will berestored to its normal position. As soon as the buoy 4 reaches the topof the Water the pump 21 may be operated to discharge thelilluminatingchemical from the passage 18 and as soon asthe chemical comes intocontact with the water an illumiating signal will be constituted by thellamel bursting forth, and the illumination will be increased by thereflector 20.` The signal, may be seen for miles around the buoy and ifthere are any vessels'in sight of the signal Succor will be promptly `athand. Removal fof the cap 29 will readily admit of connecting suitablewires with the' posts 2424l to es' tablish electrical cpnnection withthe wires 23-26- It will be understood, however, that'as soon as thebuoy reaches the surface of the water the pump connected with the tube12/will be operated so as toeject the plug 16 from the passage 14whereby air I nny, be drawn into the boatthrough theV til 12J/or thetube may be employed in the other ways hereinbefore set forth. The initial operation ,of the pump 21, preliminary to discharging the chemicalfrom the passage 18, will have expelled the p1ug-19 ,in .a mannerreadily apparent. In view of the fact that the casing orwell 2 projectsinwardly from the deck 3 of the boat, the same does not constitute -aprojection or-abutment extendingfrom the boat likely to come' lintocontact with objects in the water or be otherwise disadvantageous forreasons which will be readily appreciated Having thus described theinvention what is claimed as new is:

1. `In life saving apparatus for submarine boats, the combination of aboat, a casing applied thereto, a buoy permanently connected with theboat and received in the casing, a cover for the casing,.an operatingmechanism comprising lifting bars connected with the cover, -screwsconnected with said lifting bars to actuate thc same and open the cover,and means arranged exterior to the casing and within the boat foroperating the screws as specified.

2. In life saving apparatus for submarine boats, thercombination of aboat, a casing ap-v plied thereto, a buoy permanently connectedwith-theboat, and received in the casing, a cover forltlic casi ng, an.operating mechanism or Well 2, however,"

scares comprising lifting bars pivotally connected at t e up er endsthereof with the cover, blocks sh ably mounted on the casing andconnected with the lower ends of thev lifting bars, screws connectedwith the blocks to impart longitudinal movement'thereto, and

boat operably connected with the screws for simultaneous actuationthereof.

boats, the combination of a boat, a casing ap plied thereto, a buoyreceived in 'said casing and housed thereby, a cover for the casing.means for initially operating the cover to unseat thesame, and mainoperating means for opening the lcover after actuation thereof by theinitial operating means aforesaid.

4, In life saving apparatus for submarine boats, the combination of aboat, a casing thereon, 'a buoy received in said casing, a, cover havinga Water tight connection with the boat and co-operating with the casing'to inclose the buoy, means-for initially operating the cover to unseatthe same preparatory to opening movement thereof, main operating meansfor actuating the cover after unseating thereof, and means for supplyingwater to the space within thev casing previous to moving the cover,whereby to equalize pressure atopposite sides of said cover;

5. In life saving apparatus for submarine boats, the combination of avboat, a casing. thereon, a buoy received in said casing, a

the boat and co-operating with the casing to inclose the buoy, means forinitially operating the ,cover to unseat the same preparatory to openingmovement thereof, mainope'r'at` ing means for actuating' seatingthereof, and means loosely connecting the main operating means with thecover to ermit of the initial movement of the cover independent of themain operating means aforesaid.

6. In life saving apparatus for submarine boats, theA combination of aboat, a casing applied thereto, a buoy received in said casing, a coverfor the casing cri-operating therewith. to house the buoy, a rotatablymounted ,l screw having threaded connection with the l cover for initialmovement thereof, means for actuating the screw, and main operatingAmechanism connected with Ythe cover to open the same after operation ofthe screw l aforesaid, ,whereby the buoy may be released,

from the boat. v

"3.- In life saving apparatus for-submarine means exterior to the casingand within the cover having a water tight connection with rrf.

7. Ina life saving apparatus for submarine boats, the combination of aboat, a casing applied thereto, a buoy received in said casing, a coveror lid for tl1e-casing, and auxiliary mechanisms for operating saidcover or lidto open the same and release the buoy.

8. In alife saving appa boats, the combination of a boat, a casing ap, lplied thereto, a buoy received in said'` casing,

ratus for submarino A normally l with the boat and permitting t a coveror lid 'for the casing, auxiliary mechanisms for operating said cover orlid to open the same and release the buoy, one of the above mechanismscomprisings 'iaced lifting bars connected at the upper en( s thereof totho rover, horizontally sliding blockscolb net-ted with said liftingbars, screws mounted l on the casing and connected with said blocks andan operating shaft connected with said i screws to effect simultarieousoperation ofA the same. t l

9. In life -savlng apparatus rorsubmarme boats,v the combination ofasubmarine beat,

a buoy, means connecting said buoy with the boat, and permitting thebuoy to rise to the surface of the water when the boat is lsub- Imerged, said buoy embodyinga reflecting surface, and means fordischarging a chemical illuminating signal from the buoy after it hasrisen to the surface.

v10. In life Savin(lr apparatus for submarine boats, the c'om ination ofa submarine boat, a buoy connected therewith, means preventingseparation of the ,buoy oat, means connecting the buoy e same tori'se't'ovthe surface ofthe water when the boat from the,

is submerged, and means forindicating when the. buoy reaches the surfaceof the water on release thereof.

".1 1 In life saving apparatus Vfor submarine buoyv connected therewith,means nor- A E the surface of the water on release ofthe same from theboat. I

l2. In life saving apparatus for ublnarine boats, the combination of alsubmarine boat, a buoy, a cable connecting the buoy nto the of the buo)Yfrom the beat, means for releasingthe buoy, an air passage leading fromwithin 'the boat through the buoy and the within the upper end of thepassage to nor- 4mally close .the'same and lneansfor forcing air throughsaid air passage after the buoy has reachedthe surface of the water toclear or open the passage to the atmosphere connecting cable thereof,means inserted 45 boat, means normally preventing separation Intestimony whereof I a'lix my signatureA in presence of twowitnesses'.osoAn A.A c. OEHMLER.

Witnesses: y 1

